When lived1846-1927
How related to Kieran
Great-great-great-great-grandfather (father of Bertha Hill)
Parents
Thomas Hill Sr. and Fannie Gleason
Birth
Dec. 11, 1846, in Addison-Steuben, Steuben County, N.Y.
Employment
Farmer and soldier
Marriage
g Married Anna Place (b. 1849 to Charles Place and Mary Burns; d. 1937) on Sept. 17, 1865, in Waterville, Pepin County, Wis., one month after his discharge (his obituary lists "Lake City, Minn." as place of marriage)
Children
g Emery Hill (died as a child)
g Frank Hill (died as a child)
g Goldy Hill (died as a child)
g Ida Hill (m. Louis Wakefield; their children include Louis Wakefield and Karen Wakefield)
g Perry Hill (died as a child)
g Rose Hill (m. Elias Davis; their children include: Dolly Davis, m. John Brown; Annie Davis, m. Brenon Brown; Ansel Davis; Thomas Davis; Polly Davis, m. Ida Wicksturn; Hannah Daviskin January 1928, Rose and her husband were living in Rice Lake, Wis.)
g Thomas Hill III (died as a child)
g Vernie Hill (m. Leroy Veness)
g George Hill (b. 1863, m. Mary L., d. 1934)
g Evan Hill (b. May 10, 1869, m. Effie Hide)
g Bertha Hill (b. Oct. 8, 1875; d. Feb. 20, 1960, in Pepin County)
g Charles (aka Charlie) Hill (b. 1879. m. Anne Sylvester. Their children include: Caroline Hill, b. 1909, d. 1983; Ida Hill, b. 1914, m. Herman Wakefield; Neil Charles Hill, b. 1921, suffered mild Down’s Syndrome and worked as an occasional farmhand for Clarence Bignell in late 1960s to early 1970s; d. 1973.
g Guy Hill (b. Dec. 4, 1880; d. Nov. 14, 1958 in Pepin County; buried in Porcupine Cemetery)
g Mary Hill (b. April 29, 1885; m. Otis Bignell, son of Robert and Didame (Place) Bignell, in 1902; their children include: Daughter Bignell, b. 1903; Orlin Bignell, b. Feb. 4, 1904, d. Nov. 8, 1978; Mary d. July 18, 1953, at Plum City Hospital, Plum City, Wis.)
g Daisy Hill (b. Oct. 1, 1887, m. Glenn Carroll)
g Iva Ann Hill (b. March 11, 1895, in Wis., m. Chester Bignell, Robert Bignell’s son, on Jan. 12, 1912 - Chester was born Feb. 2, 1885, in Wisconsin, and died Sept. 14, 1962 - in Wisconsin; their children are: Pearl Bignell - “Miss Flossie HILL is working for Mrs. Pearl Bignell in Plum City,” according to the June 9, 1925, Lake City Graphic-Republican; Idella Bignell; Luella Bignell, m. Walter, last name unknown; Stella Bignell, b. June 27, 1910, d. Dec. 15, 1990, Eau Claire, Wis.; Vivian A. Bignell, b. 1933, m. Phillip A. Felland, who fought in the Korean War, holding rank of A2C U.S. Air Force. Iva d. Sept. 14, 1972, in Wis.)
Interesting facts
g Apparently his father settled brieflyin Ohio when Thomas was a child before moving to Wisconsin.
g This is the Thomas Hill mentioned in the Caddie Woodlawn stories by Carol Ryrie Brink. "Caddie Woodlawn", the first book in the series, notes that Tom Hill, "one of the hired men" had gone to fight in the Civil War. The opening page of the short story "Magical Melons” has Tom Hill and Robert Ireton, "the hired men", milking cows as Caddie and her brothers watched; when Tom and Robert are done with the chores, they "made a dash for the kitchen to pass the time of day with Katie Conroy, the cook." In the story, Robert and Tom had hidden watermelons in the hay mow, but when they go to retrieve them as a treat for the Woodlawn children, most of the melons are gone as the kids had found and secretly ate them. Tom has only one line in the story (which he "drawled"): "So they was the culprits that meddled with our treat! Robert an' me were fair vexed that somebody had mad eoff with more than half of the melons we had hid so careful." Tom does not appear in other stories, but Robert and Katie make brief appareances. A woman in Eau Claire, who is a granddaughter of Chester Bignell and Ivy Hill, said that Thomas’ wife – Anna Place — once said of Woodlawn, "She wanted him, but I got him."
g Served in the Civil War during 1865 in Co H, 51st Wisconsin Infantry (his military service picture appears above). A timeline of his Civil War experiences include:
n March 28 - Volunteered and joined Co. B, 53th Regiment Infantry, given rank of private (lists home as “Pine Valley”; an alternate source says he enlisted March 20)
n June 19- His regiment is consolidated with 51st Wisconsin Infantry and company is renamed Co. H. He is listed as a "keeper" of Old Abe, an eagle he company took with it (a position he held from May 30-Aug. 18); he is mentioned in the book "Our Story," a history of Eau Claire, in the section about Old Abe). During next 10 days, he is sent with regiment from Eau Claire, Wis., aboard stemboat Stella Whipple to St. Louis and then Fort Leavenworth, Kan. He later names his granddaughter, Stella Bignell, after the steamboat. Another of his war-time duties was to be the flag bearer if the regular one were shot in battle.
n June 30 - Consolidation completed at Fort Leavenworth; regiment’s assignment is guard duty for construction of Pacific Railroad from Holden to Pleasant Hill, Mo.; regiment is stationed at Warrensburg, Mo.
n Aug. 5 - Regiment returns to Camp Randall, (Madison) Wis.
n Aug. 15 - Discharged from regiment at Camp Randall
n Aug. 29 - Mustereded out of Co. H
g Mentioned in the following columns: We can change our world — just ask Iowa’s veterans and Family, home resurrects quiet appreciation of life
g The photo above of him is from tin pate of his service during he Civil War; a copy of it exists at the Carson Park museum in Eau Claire.
g He suffered from lumbago and arthritis, which some of his descendants said was a result of sleeping on the ground during the Civil War. He also suffered a wound to the leg, which required that he walk with a cane for the rest of his life; he received a pension for the rest of his life for it.
g Thomas claimed to be of Irish descent, though "Hill" is an English surname
g Once when moving a house, it started to slide back on the movers. Thomas pushed himself forward, stuck up his thumbs and yelled "Let 'er come!" He was small in stature. This same story was recorded by a family biographer for Robert Bignell, so it may be apocryphal.
g In April 1895, joined Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (note that this is not Mormonism)
g Obituary appears in Durand (Wis.) Courier Wedge during first week of February 1927
g His death certificate lists "George Hill" as his father's name with birthplace unknown
Died
Jan. 28, 1927, 11:45 p.m. at his home on Maple Ridge, Pepin County, Wis.; cause of death is given as apoplexy on his death certificate; buried Feb. 1, 1927, in Round Hill Cemetery, Pepin County; church Elder S.E. Livingston gave the sermon at his funeral with P.W. Goodrich, Durand, Wis., the undertaker.
Photos and documents
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| Thomas Hill Jr. |
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